China Cracks Down on Social Media with Threat of Jail for 'Online Rumors'

Posted: 9/11/2013 | By: Jonathan Kaiman | The Guardian

China
has unveiled tough measures to stop the spread of what the government
calls irresponsible rumors, threatening offenders with three years in
jail if untrue posts online are widely reposted, drawing an angry
response from Chinese internet users.

China is in the middle of yet another crackdown on what it terms "online rumours", as the government tries to rein in social media, increasingly used by Chinese people to discuss politics, despite stringent censorship.